This invention relates to a ball holder and more particularly to a ball holder that can be comfortably worn by the player without obstruction.
There are many occasions in sport utilizing a ball wherein it is desireable to have the convenience of carrying on the person at least one additional ball. Perhaps the most common example of such a sport is the game of tennis where the server ordinarily is required to manage two balls. In general, the server carries both balls in one hand, puts one ball in a pocket, if available, or otherwise tucks the ball under a tight-fitting garment. All are unnecessary inconveniences.
The prior art has attempted with limited success to avoid or minimize these inconveniences. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,074,180 to F. J. Hatley discloses a belt-mountable tennis ball holder that includes a pair of resilient rings between which a tennis ball can be inserted and held. Unfortunately, the dual ring structure of the Hatley device results in a holder which when mounted onto the belt of the wearer protrudes too far out for most players and tends to obstruct or otherwise interfere with arm and body movement. In addition the gripping action of the clip portion of the Hatley ball holder is less than desireable tending to wiggle or sway during aggressive movement by the player.
Another dual ring-containing tennis ball holder is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,065,040 to Stephen D. Steere. Like the Hatley device, aforementioned, the Steere holder similarly protrudes outwardly an undue distance and has been criticized as being cumbersome and too obstructive in design. An additional shortcoming of the Steere holder is the fact that it requires the wearing of a belt and cannot be clasped onto modern tennis shorts that contain no belt.
Other tennis ball holders such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,708,061 to James Kotcha and U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,709 to William C. Kinard, in addition to protruding too far out, are much too heavy and/or bulky for comfortable play. Yet other known tennis ball holders suffer from the disadvantage of being engageable to tennis apparel only with considerable difficulty or requiring undue manipulation of elaborate clip features before engagement is secured.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a ball holder substantially reduced in profile when mounted on the waist band or belt of the wearer which ball holder significantly lessens the tendency of the holder to obstract arm and body movement of the player during use.
Another object of the invention is to provide a light weight ball holder which can be worn on modern beltless tennis shorts as well as belted tennis apparel and whose presence is virtually undetected by the wearer during play.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a ball holder of sturdy design which is characterized by extraordinary stability and gripping power or tension when clasped or clipped onto the waist band or belt of the wearer.
A further object of the invention is to provide an aesthetically-appealing ball holder which easily lends itself to adjustment so as to firmly engage a given substrate.
Quite another object of this invention is to provide a ball holder which in addition to the aforementioned objects enables easy insertion and removable of the ball therefrom.